As I Should Be (series)
by Slaymesoftly
Summary: A series of four ficlets beginning with Buffy's break-up with Spike and ending the day Xander and Anya's wedding.
1. As I Should Be

**As I Should be** (7/8/06)

Many thanks to my wonderful beta, Always_jbj who also (as she so often has to. lol) provided the title. (A series of four ficlets beginning with an alternate version of the Buffy's breakup with Spike)

**As I Should Be**

"I'm using you"

"Really not complaining here."

"Well you should be! What's wrong with you? I'm using you, I'm taking advantage of your… your feelings for me. It's wrong… and it's.…" Her voice lowered so that he could barely hear her. "It's killing me," she finished in a whisper. "Why isn't it killing you?"

His shoulders slumped, all trace of cockiness vanquished with her words. She was serious. The shiver that went up his spine had nothing to do with his body temperature, her "It's killing me" cutting deeper than any of the normal verbal and physical insults.

"I didn't say it was makin' me happy, pet," he said carefully, moving closer. "I said I wasn't complainin'."

"Same thing."

"No, love. It isn't. Not really. I'm not complainin' because as long as anything I do can make you feel a bit better about bein' in this world, that's a good thing in my book. Do I wish you _wanted_ to be with me, rather than just needed it to forget for a while? Hell, yes, Slayer, I wish you could be happy about whatever this is between us. You know that. But I can live with what I've got. I'm in your life – whether your little Scooby pals know it or not. You're in my life. And I'm having regular, bloody wonderful sex with an amazing woman. What's not to like?"

He tried a cocky grin that didn't reach his eyes, now staring at her anxiously. A deepening fear that he knew what she had come there do kept him talking, as if, by preventing her from saying the words, he could change her intent.

"It's not killin' me because I'm love's bitch and always have been. Have had years of practice knowin' I'm not bein' loved back. Don't really expect it anymore, do I? As long as I can love you—"

"You shouldn't love me! I'm… I'm mean to you! I abuse you – dammit, Spike, I almost killed you a few weeks ago! Don't you see?" Her voice held a pleading note. "I don't deserve your love. I don't deserve anyone's love. Not even a soulless vampire's. There's something wrong with me – you said it yourself – I came back wrong. And you're paying the price for it."

The look in his eyes told her she'd managed to tear his heart out again, without even meaning to this time. He blinked rapidly as he accepted his part in creating the despair in which Buffy was clearly living.

"N… no, love. Don't… I never meant to.…" To her horror, he fell to his knees in front of her, clutching her legs and burying his face against her thighs. His voice was muffled and strained as he struggled to deny her words. "Never meant that, Buffy. Never. You're not – you're sunshine, goodness; all the things I'm not. I was just runnin' my bloody mouth, tryin' to pull you closer to me. Was a bloody stupid git, wasn't I? Trying to make you want to be with me, in my world. Know you don't belong here, Buffy. I know that. I just wanted so badly for you to need me. Thought if I…. Bloody hell! I don't know what the fuck I was thinking…. Never meant that, pet. The only thing wrong with you is that you got ripped out of your well-earned reward and you're understandably unhappy about it.

"Do you think I don't know you wouldn't be with me if you were feeling better? That you wouldn't be finding solace with a soulless demon if you had any other choice? I know that, Slayer. I wake up knowing it, and it's all I'm bloody thinking about when I fall asleep. I know this can't last, love. I tell myself that every day."

He stopped to take a shaky breath, unaware that, in his distress, his accent had slipped into something that sounded more like the upper-middle class gentleman he'd originally been than it did like the crude thug into which he'd made himself over the years. Buffy cocked her head and stared at him with newly aware eyes. For the first time, she allowed herself to see the man beneath the demon that she had tried to tell herself was all that Spike could ever be. She began to tremble.

"I can't do this," she whispered, even as her hands involuntarily found their way to the top of his head. "I can't keep hurting you. It's not right." Her tears fell unnoticed onto the hands that were stroking his head. For long minutes they remained frozen in a sorrowful tableau, the vampire kneeling at her feet, his face hidden by her skirt, the Slayer's head bowed over him as her tears dripped onto his hair.

She jerked with surprise when his voice floated up to her, containing just a trace of his usual snark.

"Right then. Because kickin' me to the curb isn't going to hurt me at all."

She grabbed a handful of the soft curls she'd been absently stroking and yanked his head back to glare at him.

"Did I say that's what I was doing?" she snapped.

" 's what you came here to do, isn't it?" His eyes challenged her to deny what he'd guessed the minute she'd begun talking.

With a sigh, she dropped her hands and gently pushed him away. He rocked back onto his heels, but didn't rise from his position on the hard floor.

"Yes," she admitted in a whisper. "It's what I came here to do. But it… it's for your own good!" she added quickly. He raised a skeptical eyebrow, and she had the grace to look away and flush.

"Buffy." His voice was strained but firm. "If you really need to do this to… to help yourself feel better about… things. Then there's nothing I can do to stop you. And I… I wouldn't want to." He got slowly to his feet and gave a shaky laugh. "God, that's a bloody lie, innit?"

Shaking off his fear, he approached her again. "It's a bloody lie, but I'd do it. For you. If that's really what you need." He tipped her chin up and forced her to look at him. "But don't try to tell yourself you're doing it for me. I'd let you beat me to a bloody pulp every week if it meant I didn't have to give you up. Whatever pain you think you're causing me by not loving me the way I love you—" He paused when she started to object. "Yeah, yeah, alright. It hurts. I'll not deny it. It does. But, bloody hell, love, you can't possibly think that leavin' me is the answer to makin' me feel better!" His voice grew louder as fear took control of his emotions.

"D'you have any idea how hard it would be for me to go back to bein' alone here?" He grabbed a dagger off a nearby table and held it out to her. "Jus' cut my heart out, now, Buffy, if that's what you're planning to do. Or put a stake through it. I don't really care which. Jus' don't… don't tell me you're never comin' back, love. Don't do that to me."

He finished his speech with his forehead pressed against hers, his hands hanging loose at his sides. He waited patiently for her response, not daring to allow himself to hope that because she wasn't pulling away from him, she might have changed her mind.

"Wha—" She cleared her throat and tried again, "What if I just told you I had to stay away for a while? For me. I have to see if Buffy is still in here." She touched her chest lightly, not moving away from him but making no attempt to touch him except to leave their foreheads pressed together. "I have to see what I can handle when I don't have you to… to run to for distraction or for ego-boosting when I need it."

"Nothing wrong with wanting a little ego-stroking, pet," he murmured, still afraid to put his arms around her. "Or distraction, for that matter. Slayer's life is a hard one; a good enough distraction might be—"

Buffy shocked them both when she lifted her head and raised a hand to cup his cheek. She met his puzzled eyes bravely.

"The distraction was always good, William. You'll never hear me complain about that part of it." She smiled sadly as his expression turned hopeful. "But I can't keep pretending that sex with you doesn't mean anything – to you or to… to me. I just need to figure out what it means. And I can't do that while we're doing… things. I need some space. I need to find Buffy again and figure out what she wants in her life. I feel like I've been sleep-walking since I got back and today I got a wake-up call."

"What do you want me to do, pet?" Spike's voice was resigned as he stepped away from her. "Do you want me to leave Sunnyhell?"

"No!" Her vehement response came as much of a surprise to her as it did to him, and she colored slightly as she tried to recover. "I… I mean, no. You shouldn't have to leave. We're going to be like… friends. That's all. Just, not with the physical stuff…. We can do that, can't we, Spike?"

The uncertainty and fear in her voice made him bite back the denial trembling in his throat, but he couldn't hide the emotions so visible on his expressive face. Buffy shivered as she remembered his speech so long ago in which he'd told her that she and Angel would never be friends. The same speech in which he'd called himself "Love's bitch".

With a supreme effort, he resisted the urge to fall at her feet again. Telling himself that begging a Slayer was just not in his nature, he shook his head and whispered, "If you need me, love, you'll know where to find me. I don't think I'll be hangin' around much, though. It's been hard enough not touchin' you all the time, even knowin' I was going to be able to do it later; I don't know how well I could handle bein' around you all the time, knowin' you weren't comin' back with me when patrol was over. You know I've got your back if you need it, pet, but don't ask me to pretend I'm not feelin' what I'm feelin' around your little Scoobies. I don't think I can do it."

Afraid to trust her voice, Buffy just nodded silently and turned to go. When she reached the door, she paused and spoke softly, head down, eyes on the floor. "I'm sorry, William," she whispered as she pulled the door open and walked out into the suddenly cold night.

The End

Sequel: **Maybe We Can**


	2. Maybe We Can

**Maybe We Can**

Summary: A sequel to "As I Should Be" (), in which I twist another episode; in this case the wedding fiasco goes a bit better for everyone involved. Some of the dialogue may be similar or identical to familiar lines from the episode. Those parts, obviously, were written by other, more talented, people who got paid for it.

**Maybe We Can**

Buffy stared at herself in the mirror. The glowing green dress made it impossible to concentrate on anything else. She was fairly certain that her hair and make-up were going to be totally eclipsed by the bridesmaid dress that Anya had insisted was what all the bridal magazines recommended.

"Green is this year's 'in' color," she'd stated firmly. "And this shade of green is unique, so you'll be in fashion without being trite."

"Trite?" Tara had fingered the shiny fabric. "Can a dress be trite?"

"I'm pretty sure these dresses aren't going to be worn by very many bridesmaids," Buffy said diplomatically.

"Exactly!" Anya'd beamed at them. "Current, but unique."

Sighing, Buffy turned away and went out into the hall to see if Dawn needed help with anything. She tried her best not to look around the rapidly filling room for a blond head. True to his word, Spike had stayed away from her and the house since the night she'd left him alone in his crypt; although she was fairly certain that she'd felt his presence once or twice as she patrolled. Only when she was taking on something that could have given her some trouble, and it was quickly gone once she'd handled the situation.

_ Still watching my back. _

The gut wrenching shock that went through her when Dawn casually mentioned Spike's "skanky date" caught her completely by surprise; as did the way the back of the chair crumbled under her clenching fist.

"Spike has a date?" Her voice was much weaker than she had intended, and definitely not as casual.

Dawn looked at her in surprise, then with a shrewd smirk, said, "Yes, date. You know, as in, he brought a girl along so that he doesn't have to spend the night alone watching you pretend to ignore him?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Buffy said stiffly. "Spike never lets me ignore him. It's his thing. Annoy Buffy at any and all opportunities."

"Yeah, well, guess you won't have to worry about that tonight, huh?" Dawn snorted, gesturing to the far side of the room where Spike was holding the hand of a wide-eyed Goth girl. He was laughing and nodding as the girl pointed to one demon after another – more with excitement than fright. Although, when one of the more repulsive-looking of Anya's guests strolled too close to them, she squealed and clutched Spike's shirt. He put a protective arm around her shoulders and whispered something into her ear that made her blush and giggle.

"I guess not…." Buffy remained frozen for several seconds, trying very hard to reject the images her eyes were sending. Tearing her eyes away just before Spike's head flew up to search out the source of the gaze he could feel, she whirled and fled to the ladies room. The room was blissfully empty, and Buffy was free to stare at her stricken face in the mirror and try to convince herself that she wasn't jealous or hurt.

_He's a vampire, a MALE vampire. What did I expect? That he was going to sit around twiddling his thumbs waiting for me to change my mind? _

A nasty voice pointed out that thumbs were not Spike's favorite things to twiddle, and she screamed at it to 'shut up!' Biting her lip and blinking hard, she went over what she'd just seen and what Dawn had said about Spike not wanting to be alone at the wedding while she ignored him – which was exactly what she had planned to do.

_Okay. This is okay. He's just trying to protect his own feelings, and never mind what he does to mine… or, maybe that's his thinking. He's trying to make me jealous. That's it. Of course it is. He's going to be all over that girl just to make me…. Well, it isn't going to work. I am sooo not jealous. He's a free man..er, vampire… and I'm a grown woman. I can handle this just fine. It's what he should do. Move on. He can't make me jealous, because to be jealous I'd have to love him at least a little – and I don't. So no jealousy here. Nope. Not a bit._

Hoping she had convinced herself that she was fine with whatever_ or whoever_ Spike chose to do, she fixed a smile on her face and went back out to the rapidly-growing crowd. When she realized that she didn't see Xander and Anya anywhere, she temporarily forgot about Spike as she went looking for the rest of the wedding party.

Willow's worried explanation that Xander had asked for some time to meet with a strange man who had shown up unexpectedly, caused some frowning from everyone – particularly the bride. However, with the guests still arriving and the room still filling, they decided to give Xander a few more minutes before his Best "Man" would go looking for him.

Which gave Buffy some time to stroll casually around the room, gradually working her way closer to Spike. She waited until his date had gone off to the ladies room before approaching and smiling at him. They made some attempts at small talk, his admiration clear in his eyes as he complimented her on the way she was glowing. Buffy's skeptical remark about the dress's radioactivity gave them both a small chuckle before an awkward silence fell.

"Have you met my date yet?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, but I'm sure she's a fine attempt to make me jealous."

"Is it working?" He made no attempt to deny it, simply waited for her reply.

"Yeah," she surprised herself by admitting. "It hurts… a little."

"I'm sorry, Buffy—"

He recovered himself before he could finish the automatic apology. His self-righteous "Good!" and the accompanying posturing only lasted for a few seconds, before it collapsed in the face of her clear distress.

"I'm sorry. I'll just go. Leave you to enjoy the festivities. This was a bad idea."

"Actually…" She shrugged, stepping closer to him and looking up with a small frown. "…it was probably a pretty good idea. It made me realize..."

_It made me realize how important your love is to me. And how much I don't want to be sharing it._

He waited eagerly for an explanation, but none was forthcoming, she just continuing to stare at him with anxious eyes. With a sigh, he shook his head and looked away, spotting his "date" heading towards them with a curious frown on her face.

"I don't want to hurt you, Buffy. I'm sorry. We'll just go.…"

"It's okay. I deserve—"

"You deserve nothing… alright, maybe you do, Maybe I should be glad that something I do with somebody else can make you unhappy. But I'm just not built that way. I can't just ask her to leave, even if I am evil, so I'll just take her away."

"Well, that makes me feel much better. Watching you leave with her will…. Where are you going to take her? Your crypt?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I AM evil, you know." He tried very hard to look as though he had every intention of spending the rest of the night shagging the girl into the ground, but when Buffy bit her lip and stepped back, fists clenched in the folds of her dress, his bravado collapsed again. Before he could begin the babbled apology for lying to her that was trembling in his throat, Polly walked up to them and looked Buffy up and down.

"Nice dress," she said with smirk, blinking with surprise when Spike stepped between them and stretched his arm in front of the now glaring blonde. Polly glanced up at the vampire that she'd known only a day or so, and said, "I guess this must be her?"

"Her? Her who?"

"What do you mean, 'her'?"

Spike and Buffy spoke at the same time. The girl looked back and forth between them and shook her head sadly.

"The girl that you needed to make jealous by bringing a date to this shindig." She glared at an embarrassed Spike and continued, "Do you think I'm stupid? Nobody invites somebody they just met to something like a wedding unless they really, really need a date for some reason. You two obviously have some issues to work out, so I'll just tell myself it was a job well-done and be on my way."

She went up on her toes to brush her lips across Spike's cheek as she whispered, "But if it doesn't work out, you know where to find me. I'd be more than happy to take your mind off her."

"I _heard_ that!" Buffy growled.

With a laugh, Polly just waved and walked out into the night, leaving two very embarrassed people staring at the floor and waiting for the other to speak first. Before either of them could work out where to begin, Dawn ran up to Buffy and said, "Willow needs you. Xander's got a problem… a demon-shaped problem."

Throwing a "Don't you dare leave!" at Spike, Buffy ran towards the door through which Xander was last seen with the strange man. Dawn stood and watched her run away, then turned to the vampire.

"So, I guess, skanky as she was, your "date" did the trick, huh?"

"Is there anybody in this bloody room who doesn't think I only brought her to make Buffy jealous?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets, an angry pout on his face.

"Oh, probably," Dawn said, waving her hand dismissively. "Xander, maybe, and all the people who don't know you. But, me, Willow, Tara, Anya? Gimme a break. How stupid do you think we are?"

"You really don't want me to answer than, Bit," he growled, glaring at the unperturbed teenager.

"Oh please! Give it up, Big Bad. My sister has you wrapped around her finger – and she likes you there. Neither one of you is kidding anybody." She studied her former babysitter for a minute, then said more kindly, "I saw her face when she saw you two together, Spike. I don't care what she's telling you – she cares. She cares a lot."

He nodded and placed a grateful hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. "I know that, Bit," he said softly. "Jus' not sure that she does."

"Well, I think watching I'm-a-vampire-groupie-skank girl hanging on you might have helped you out there. She can't deny her first reaction – I've got the broken chair to prove it."

"It's Buffy, pet."

"Good point." She grimaced her agreement with his assessment of her sister's consistency. "Okay, looks like Xander's back. I guess Buffy slayed the demon. You should find a place to sit."

Before Spike could seat himself somewhere in the back, another crisis arose as Xander proceeded to tell Anya that he didn't think he could go through with the wedding – in front of most of the guests and the entire wedding party. Spike's enhanced hearing had allowed him to hear the entire exchange and he was already moving towards the door by the time Buffy and Willow recovered enough to go after the missing groom.

"Let me, pet," he said, putting a hand on Buffy's arm. "I think another bloke – even one he doesn't like much – would be what's needed here."

Buffy and Willow looked at him dubiously, but nodded and stepped back.

"If you're not back in ten minutes, we're coming after you," Buffy threatened.

Without responding, Spike slipped out the door and sniffed the air. Finding Xander wasn't difficult. The missing bridegroom had only gone as far as an outside patio, where he was leaning on the balustrade, his head in his hands. Spike walked up, being sure to make enough noise that the other man would know he was being approached. Xander turned his head to the side far enough to spot the beat-up black boots, then dropped it again and groaned.

"What?" he said plaintively. "My life isn't ruined enough? I've got to listen to you gloat?"

"No, you stupid git. You've got to listen to me tell you what an arse you are for leaving that lovely girl standing there with egg on her face. I don't give a flying fuck how badly you think you've screwed up, be a man about it and go back in there and marry her!"

"Shut up, Spike. What do you know about it? I'm doing this for her. Because I know I'm going to be a bad husband. In the long run, this is better."

"And in the short run? I'm no expert, mind you, but I'm pretty sure being left at the altar by a man who should be thanking the stars every night that a girl like that would have him wasn't on her list of things she wants to have in her memories."

"She's better off without me."

"Can't argue with you there," Spike agreed mildly. "But she wants you. Don't you think you should have included her when you were decidin' that it wouldn't work out?"

"Just because she thinks she wants me, doesn't mean I'm going to be good for her. What would you know about it anyway?"

"Know a bit about wanting what's not good for you. Know about being left, about being unwanted," he said quietly. "Know a bit about getting what you want… and losin' it, too," he added. "An' I can tell you, having what you want – even if it isn't good all the time – is way ahead of not having it. Or thinkin' you have it and then losing it. This is a terrible thing you're doing, Harris. And that's coming from somebody who knows a bit about terrible things…."

Spike rested his elbows on the railing and leaned quietly next to the man he'd watched grow up from a teen-aged boy into a young man. There was silence for several minutes, until Xander grumbled, "Aren't you ever going to go away?"

"Nope," Spike answered cheerfully. "If I come back without you… well, lets just say I don't fancy my chances of surviving the night. What with Buffy and Red expectin' me to deliver the goods."

"I'm the 'goods'?"

"Well, not to my way of thinking, no. I think you're a waste of good blood; but Anyanka seems to want you, and the best man and maid of honor seem to think you belong back in there. Don't know about you, but brassing off an ex-vengeance demon, a slayer and a powerful witch just doesn't strike me as a very smart move."

Before Xander could respond, Buffy and Willow came walking up, trying very hard to appear to be surprised to find them. Xander raised his head and met Willow's distressed face with a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I'll just—"

"You'll just get your butt in there and marry the woman you love," Willow said, her resolve face firmly in place.

He nodded and straightened up.

"Do you think she'll still have me?"

"Of course, she will! She's crying her eyes out right now, but we'll just make something up about the demon putting a temporary spell on you or something. It's not a problem. I can fix it." Willow exuded confidence, pausing to glare at Spike when he couldn't repress a snort.

Buffy looked back and forth between her two friends, now heading back to the entrance, reluctant bridegroom being harangued every step of the way by his Best "Man". She shuffled her feet uncertainly, taking one step towards the door, then back to where Spike was quietly waiting. After a minute of watching her dither about where to be, he spoke up.

"Go, Slayer. You're part of that little show."

She bit her lip, nodding but still not moving. He sighed and stepped closer to her, raising her chin with one hand and stroking her hair with other.

"I'm not going anywhere, love. Gonna have myself a fag and then join the happy crowd. Save me a dance, yeah?"

She gave him a sudden, fierce hug, then whirled and ran to catch up with the rest of the wedding party. Stunned, Spike remained where he was, staring after the blur of neon green as it disappeared into the building.

_Did Buffy just hug me? _

He lit a cigarette with a hand that refused to hold still; the flame trembled and wavered as he brought it to meet the tip of the cigarette clenched so tightly between his lips. He took a deep, calming drag, holding the smoke in his impervious lungs, then letting it out with sighing breath. He smoked until only the filter and ash remained, then dropped and crushed it beneath his boot. Straightening his shoulders and taking another deep breath, he walked towards the door and whatever awaited him on the other side.

The End


	3. All We've Ever Done is Dance

Prompt – Wedding-first dance: This is a sequel to "Maybe We Can" which is a season six twist set during Hells Bells and was a sequel to "As I Should Be", a twist on the break up scene that ended Buffy and Spike's affair. Confused? Yeah, me too. All you really need to know is that the first two fics, while not Spuffy-lives-happily-ever-after, were a little softer and offered more room for hope than we got in canon. This fic begins just after Spike has talked Xander into rethinking his decision to leave Anya at the altar; Buffy and Willow have followed up by taking him back in to apologize and go on with the wedding. Spike's date has gone home, having realized that she was only there to make Buffy jealous (mission accomplished) and Buffy has asked him to stay. We pick up...

**All We've Ever Done is Dance**

While the guests looked on with more than normal interest, Willow marched Xander back to the side room where Anya was still crying. She stood, blocking the doorway, arms crossed and face firmly fixed in resolve mode until he had fallen to his knees in front of Anya, begging for forgiveness and blaming the demon. He had enough sense not to mention exactly _how_ the demon had convinced him to hurt her so badly, allowing her to assume that it had been some sort of spell.

Willow gave them several minutes to kiss and make up, clearing her throat theatrically when she judged them sufficiently made up.

"Guys? The natives are getting restless out there. Do you think we can get this thing back on track?"

"Of course we can! Where's my Maid of Honor? Buffy? Hallie?" Anya was immediately back to her normal efficient self and began giving orders. "Willow, you and Xander need to get out there and stand where you're supposed to be. Make sure the groomsmen get the guests to sit down and be quiet before they line up with you."

She pushed Xander out the door and grabbed Buffy's arm as she squeezed by him. "Oh good, you're here. Where is Tara? Is she ready? She has to go in first, then Hallie, then Dawn, then you, then me. Where's D'Hoffryn? He has to— oh, good, there you are!"

D' Hoffryn and the Slayer exchanged stiff nods as Anya took his hand and waved Buffy out of the room. Buffy gave a final Slayer glare at Anya's chosen father figure before whisking past him to find Tara and the other bridesmaids.

As soon as the milling crowd of humans and demons had settled into seats on their respective sides of the aisle, Willow and Josè, Xander's friend from work, rolled out the white runner and then took their places beside him and in front of the other groomsmen. Xander's face was a mix of embarrassment and determination – which softened into adoration as Anya and D'Hoffryn made their way majestically down the aisle toward him.

Buffy sighed in relief when she watched Xander's face change as Anya approached them.

_He does love her. This is going to work. I can see it. _

She met Willow's eyes and they smiled at each other as D'Hoffryn, with visible reluctance, put Anya's hand in Xander's. Drawing himself up to his full, very impressive height, the ruler of Arashmahaar glared down at the human man who had dared to fall in love with and marry one of his former vengeance demons.

"I will be watching you," he said loudly and clearly.

Anya shot him a glare, then softened her expression and smiled.

"I love you too," she said, taking his hand and kissing his ring. "And thank you."

Xander's face darkened briefly at the reminder of Anya's many years as one of the tall demon's most valued employees, but he shrugged it off and turned her around to face him.

"I love you," he said clearly. "And I promise I will never hurt you again."

When the actual ceremony was over and the two wildly different groups of guests had reluctantly begun to mingle again, Xander and Anya stepped onto the floor for their first dance as a married couple. They moved around the floor slowly, dancing not exactly being Xander's forte. Finally they just stopped trying to cover any area and just stood together, swaying gently to the music, Anya's head resting on Xander's chest.

"Apocalypse averted?"

Buffy turned her head so fast she almost lost her balance, Spike's hand on her elbow gave her a moment of stability before she recovered and he let go.

"Thanks," she mumbled, averting her eyes from the wicked glint in his. It was annoying how easily he could sneak up on her now that his signature no longer screamed _"vampire!"_ "And, no. That wasn't an apocalypse, it was just a... a crisis. You've been in Sunnydale long enough to know that real apocalypses only happen in the spring."

"S'pose that's true," he agreed, his expression softening. "Standing your girl up at the altar probably doesn't qualify – even if she could turn back into a vengeance demon and destroy half the town..."

"Do you think she would have done that? Gone back? After being human?"

He shrugged. "Was human before she got recruited, wasn't she? I'm sure her old boss would have made her an offer. Can't see why she wouldn't have taken it. A human had just broken her heart -– why would she want to stick around to be hurt again?"

"Because she's good now? I mean, except for the whole money-grubbing thing... Why would she give that up to go back to being evil?" Buffy's face was genuinely confused and Spike shook his head in disgust.

"Makes life simpler, doesn't it? No worries about whether you're doing the right thing, or if you're going to disappoint. You can just go about your business and enjoy being evil. Would be a relief, seems to me."

Buffy stared up at him. "We _are_ still talking about Xander and Anya, aren't we?"

"Could be," he said, his expression blank.

She stared at him intently, but before she could say more Josè came up to them. With an apologetic smile at Spike, he said to Buffy, "The best man wants to dance with his-her girlfriend, so I think I'm supposed to dance with you." He gave Spike another nervous smile and held out his arm to Buffy. She shrugged at Spike's expressionless face and took Josè's arm.

"Don't leave," she warned as she allowed Josè to lead her to the dance floor. They moved stiffly around the cleared area, making awkward small talk about how beautiful the wedding was and how "unusual" some of the guests were. As the first song died out and a new one began, Jose jumped at a tap on his shoulder. Buffy glanced up to see Spike standing by, waiting politely for Josè to realize that he was cutting in.

Josè gave the strangely menacing-looking man a quick grimace, then backed away, thanking Buffy for the dance. She mumbled the appropriate responses, even as she stared at Spike in shock. Spike took her hand and pulled her against his body, one hand on the small of her back and the other holding hers at a very formal angle.

"May I have this dance, Buffy?" he said, beginning to move before she had pulled her wits together enough to answer him. For the first minute she was so busy wondering what they were doing that she didn't realize how skillfully Spike was guiding her around the dance floor. Once she did, she stumbled a little at the realization.

"You're very good at dancing – it's almost like we... We've never danced together before, have we?" she asked.

"Ah, Slayer, we've never done anything but dance." He smirked at her, giving her time to think about all the meanings he'd attached to that word through the years. When her face had gone through several different expressions, finally settling on cautious agreement, he softened his smirk to a genuine smile and pulled her closer so that he could whisper in her ear. "And, yes, I am good at it. Credit my youthful years as a good little Victorian boy, and another hundred plus with a barmy girlfriend who loved to dance."

"Way to remind me that you're older than dirt and have a crazy, evil ex," she muttered, but a small smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. "So, a good little Victorian boy, huh? That's not the story you usually tell."

"Want you to know the real me, Buffy. Warts and all."

"I don't think being a good boy is much of a wart."

He laughed softly. "Trust me, love, you'd not have given me the time of day back then."

"Not in the cool crowd, huh?"

"Bigger git than Harris," he said with a grin. "Probably why I was able to get through to him. One useless, undeserving male to another."

"In the interest of enjoying the rest of the dance, I'm not going to respond to that right now..." Buffy moved marginally closer to him and slipped her left arm around his neck, smiling when he curled her right hand into his chest. They finished the song moving less quickly, but still smoothly inside the small area Spike had staked out as 'Vampire and Slayer dancing here' territory. The other humans took one look at the hard-edged punk and moved away, and the demons gave Buffy a wide berth anytime they had to move past her.

When the music had ended and something faster and less amenable to Victorian era dancing came on, they stopped and dropped their arms, still standing close enough for her breasts to brush his chest with every breath.

"I guess we should get off the floor," she breathed, her gaze focused on his throat.

"Guess so," he agreed, not moving.

Dawn broke the stalemate by coming up to them, grinning from ear to ear. "You guys just won me some money. I bet Hallie you'd dance together before the night was over and you already have. She owes me."

"You're gambling? You're making bets? About us? With a vengeance demon?"

Buffy's voice was getting higher and shriller with every question and Spike backed away quickly mumbling about getting something to drink.

"Spike!"

He shook his head. "No way, Bit. You're on your own this time." He made a beeline for the bar, asking for a large tumbler full of Johnny Walker and downing it without pausing to savor the taste. He handed it back for a refill and watch from a safe distance as Buffy dragged Dawn to the hallway, clearing remonstrating with her every step of the way. He met Hallie's amused glance and gave her a short nod of recognition. A nod which she took as an invitation to sashay her way across the floor to his side.

"Hello, William," she purred. "You've come up in the world a bit, haven't you? Or down, maybe. Dating the Slayer could be seen either way." She smiled coyly. "How long has this been going on?"

"None of your business," he replied, sipping his drink and never taking his eyes off the hallway where Buffy and Dawn were waving their arms and trying not to argue loudly enough to be heard by the guests. "And I'd suggest you make yourself scarce before the Slayer comes back."

"Is she that jealous?"

Spike gave her sidelong look that clearly said he couldn't imagine what he'd ever seen in her. "No," he said shortly. "But she is overly protective of her sister and you'd already messed that up enough before you decided to add teaching her to bet with demons to the mix."

Hallie tossed her head and swished her neon green skirt. "I'm not afraid of the Slayer."

"Then you are a very foolish woman," he said, putting down his empty glass and moving away without a backwards glance. He made his way through the crowd to the hallway where Dawn had gone into a full-fledged pout and Buffy was glaring at her in a way that would have terrified any demon at the party.

"That bint isn't someone you need to be chumming around with, Dawn," he said, his use of her name lending emphasis to his words. "Don't care if she is Anya's friend. She shouldn't be one of yours. You hear me?"

"You're not the boss of me! You can't tell me what to do. I have Buffy for that," she finished with a glare at her sister.

Spike went into game face long enough to get a gasp from her as he moved closer. He grinned mentally when she unconsciously shrank against the wall before she remembered who he was. She stood up straighter, but kept a wary eye on his face as he did his best to loom over her.

"You have everybody who cares about you to tell you what to do," he growled. "All of us. And you'd better bloody well listen when somebody who's known that 'justice demon' since she was a human bitch tells you to stay away."

Clearly outnumbered and more intimidated than she would let on, Dawn sidled away, clutching her teen-aged dignity around her. "You two deserve each other," she sniffed as a parting shot. She did, however, avoid Hallie's side of the room very carefully, staying close to Willow and Tara.

Spike let his face slide back into his human features as he leaned against the wall to watch Dawn leave. He felt Buffy slump against the wall beside him, her shoulder just barely touched his arm.

"Aren't weddings supposed to be happy, carefree occasions?"

"Well, I think—"

"Rhetorical question, Spike."

"Right."

The music drifted in from the main room and Spike coughed uncontrollably as he doubled over with laughter.

"What?"

"Just listen," he managed to gasp out.

Buffy frowned and moved closer to the room entrance. Her face went white, then red as she recognized the sounds coming from the speakers. She shook her head, than started laughing herself. She went back to his side and leaned against him.

"Did you put them up to this?"

"No way, Buffy. Got better sense than that. Has to be somebody who was there – or who knew about it..."

They looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Dawn!"

"I'll kill her."

"Ah, let it go, Slayer. She got us back good. Let her have it." He cocked his head at her and held out his hand. "Dance with me again, love?"

She slipped into his arms and they moved gracefully around the hallway, Spike skillfully avoiding the drinking fountain and a few scattered chairs. Buffy relaxed and allowed him to completely control their movements, enjoying letting him guide her much as she had during their time together. As the end of the song neared, she felt his arms tighten around her and she squeezed him back, saying, "That was going to be our first dance at our wedding."

"I remember." He held her, no longer moving now that the music had stopped. "Feels just as good when it's the second dance at someone else's wedding."

"It does feel good, doesn't it?" She hadn't moved away from his embrace, resting her head on his chest and inhaling the scents that she was willing to admit she'd been missing since she'd told him they were finished.

"Feels like bloody heaven to me," he whispered, not really caring if she heard him or not – but she did. Buffy raised her head to meet his eyes. "Spike... I can't promise... but I... " She blinked rapidly, swallowing hard as she watched the hope fill his eyes. "I miss you. I don't mean the sex... I mean, yeah, that too, but I miss seeing you every night. I miss talking to you and yelling at you and..."

"And punching me?" He raised a teasing eyebrow.

"And punching you," she muttered, giving him a little shake. "But I don't want to be that girl anymore. The one who hates her life and takes it out on you."

"She had her reasons, love. Always knew that. If beating up on me made you feel better..."

"Do you think we can... I want to..." She met his eyes again. "I can't promise I'll love you the way you... but I'd... I'd like to see where this could go. Can we do that?"

He picked her up and twirled her around, dancing without letting her feet touch the ground. "We can do that, love. We _will _do that. I promise you we will."

From across the large room, Willow and Tara gasped as they saw the impromptu hug and Buffy's laughing face as Spike twirled her around. "Are they... is he... are they _dancing?"_

"Yep," Dawn said with a loud pop at the end and with a satisfied smirk. "They are."

The end.


	4. Good Food, Good Wine, Candlelight

Schmoopy bingo prompt – Candlelight dinner

Follows immediately upon the heels of "All We've Ever Done is Dance" –

**Good Food, Good Wine, Candlelight, a Bit of Violence...**

"Did I see Buffy dancing with Spike?" Xander spoke around the piece of cake Anya had just shoved in his mouth.

"You did. Get over it. Have more cake."

"But... she... he... mmmph!"

"I thought he came with a date," Tara murmured to Willow as they watched Spike stop twirling Buffy and set her back on her feet.

"He did. I met her. I wonder where she is?"

"She left." Dawn's voice held nothing but satisfaction and smugness. "I talked to her, too, and she wasn't as stupid as Spike thought. She knew she was just here to make somebody jealous and when she could see it worked, she left. Smart girl."

"Jealous? Who would Spike be trying to make jeal— Oh. But you can't mean... Buffy wasn't..."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Seriously? Nobody but me has noticed how much time Buffy has spent with Spike since she... came back? You don't think she's out there patrolling all by herself every night, do you? He doesn't come around the house as much..." She paused, frowning and nibbling her lip. "I wonder why that is? He used to be there all the time." She shrugged it off. "Anyway, Buffy can insist all she wants that he's stalking her and that she doesn't want him around, but anybody could see that's not true. Bringing a date is probably the smartest thing he's ever done." She nodded with the wisdom of a younger sister. "Buffy doesn't share her toys..."

"They _do_ seem pretty happy and comfortable together," Tara ventured, sliding her eyes toward Willow and wondering if she could share what she knew about them now that Buffy seemed to be going public with it. However, when Buffy and Spike came back into the main room displaying no physical signs of affection other than to remain in each other's general vicinity, she decided to let Buffy's own actions reveal whatever she was willing to reveal.

As the reception wound down and the happy couple was sent off on their honeymoon – the appropriate amounts of small seeds and other, less appealing, things having been thrown at them – Buffy and Willow went about the boring business of cleaning up and closing down the venue. If anyone was surprised to see Spike pitching in and helping to carry the heavy trash bags outside to the dumpster, they didn't mention it.

Eventually, they were as finished as anyone felt like being at that hour of the night, and all piled into the Summers' SUV to go home. The back was full of gifts that Buffy had offered to store until Xander and Anya came back from the honeymoon, and Spike was left standing awkwardly on the pavement. Buffy looked at him helplessly as he walked around to her window and murmured, "It's alright, love. You need your rest. I can get myself home from here. Baby steps, yeah?"

Buffy smiled with relief and nodded her head. "Baby steps. Goodnight, Spike." Although they didn't touch, very conscious of the eyes on them, the way they were leaning toward each other made it very clear to everyone in the car that without the audience they would have been kissing their goodnights.

"Night, Spike!" Dawn broke into the moment, giving Buffy the push she needed to give him one last wistful smile before pulling away from the curb and leaving him staring after them.

"So," Willow said with studied casualness, "you and Spike?"

"We're... it's complicated. We were—" She paused when Willow and Dawn yelped, "You _were?" _neither of them noticing Tara's lack of surprise. Buffy waited until Willow had stopped babbling questions, continuing as though she hadn't been interrupted. "We were... and then we weren't—aren't... and now... maybe... maybe we are again. We're going to see how it goes."

"Is that what he meant by 'baby steps'?" Dawn demanded.

"Yes. We're going to take it very slow and just see... see what happens." As she pulled into the driveway, Buffy met Tara's eyes in the mirror. "There was a lot of badness before... but I'm better now, so maybe..." Tara gave a reassuring smile that Willow missed as she was opening the door.

The girls entered the house and immediately began yawning.

"Okay, you've got some 'splainin' to do," Dawn said. "But I'm too tired for it tonight."

"That's right, missy," Willow put in. "Big explaining. Possibly with pictures—" She paused when Tara snorted and Buffy turned bright red. "Oh Goddess," she breathed. "Okay then – no pictures. But explaining. Lots of explaining."

"I'll... I'll try to explain. But not tonight. Tonight I want to get out of this dress and put it somewhere that it won't disturb my sleep. Possibly that would be South America..."

There were murmurs of agreement as lights were turned off and doors rechecked before everyone stumbled off to bed. Buffy closed her door and gave a sigh as she reached for the zipper on the back of the dress.

"Need a little help with that, love?"

Her "eep!" of surprise was indicative of how tired she was. The fact that there was a vampire sprawled on her bed hadn't even ruffled the hairs on the back of her neck. While she glared at him, Spike flowed off the bed and gently took her shoulders to turn her around.

"You _are _planning to make this disappear now, aren't you?" he said, sliding the zipper down, and then stepping away. Buffy stared at him in surprise, choosing to answer his question rather than comment on the distance he'd just put between them.

"That's the plan," she said with a grimace. "Although I think I'm too tired to get it very far away tonight." She stepped behind the closet door and slipped the dress off, kicking it out into the room before shedding her underwear and pulling on a pair of modest pajamas. She stepped out of the closet, prepared to tell Spike that finding him lolling on her bed was not her idea of taking it slow – only to find him standing by the window, dress over his arm.

"I'll get rid of it for you," he offered. "You can tell Anya you got attacked by a demon on the way home and the dress was ripped beyond all repair."

"You have a devious mind." She cocked her head at him. "I think I like it." She watched as he put one leg over the windowsill. "Are you leaving? I mean without me having to throw you out?"

"That's what we agreed, innit? Baby steps? Just came by to ask you to dinner tomorrow evening. Really more of a late supper, I guess, now that I think of it. After you patrol."

"Dinner? With you?" She couldn't miss the pain that crossed his face, and hastened to explain. "I didn't mean... I'd love to, Spike. Have dinner with you. You just surprised me, that's all."

"Want to do this proper – and that means I need to wine and dine you." He looked down with embarrassment. "Wasn't sure you'd want to be seen with me in a nice restaurant, though, so I—"

Buffy stepped closer to the window. "If we're going to do this, I want to do it 'proper' too. And if that means..."

"Not to worry, pet. We'll have our first 'date' in my crypt – if that's alright with you. Candlelight, wine, good food – but without the pressure of knowing people are watching us and wondering when we're going to start tearing the place apart."

"People don't think that about us!" she said, tossing her head. "Maybe you, they do, but I know how to be a perfect lady."

"Not the way Willy tells it," he grinned.

"Willy wouldn't know a lady if he tripped over one – and his place doesn't count as a public restaurant." She grimaced. "And anyway, we only wrecked it that one time... and then there was that time I... " She shook herself. "You weren't planning to take me to Willy's for our first date were you?"

"Hell no! But I didn't want to make reservations anywhere without your okay, so I just thought a nice, catered dinner..."

"It sounds lovely, Spike. I'll be looking forward to it." She leaned in and brushed her lips across his. "Now go away before I fall face down on the floor."

"Sleep well, love. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night, Spike." Buffy waved a hand as she fell face first onto bed and burrowed under the covers. With a sigh, Spike brought his leg back into the room and silently crossed it to turn off the light. He leaned over the bed and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"Goodnight, Buffy," he whispered before sliding out the window and pulling it shut behind him.

Swearing under her breath at the newly risen – now staked – vampire that had managed to get grave dirt in her hair, Buffy combed her fingers through it as she approached Spike's crypt. The sight of the familiar door sparked a most unfamiliar flutter in her stomach, slowing her steps until she was standing in front of it chewing her lip. The metal outer door was already standing open in welcome, the inner one closed tightly. She noticed the warm light coming from under the door and wondered if Spike had found some new lamps since her last visit.

She raised her hand and knocked upon the door that she had kicked open so often. She stood, waiting, not sure if she should knock again, when the door opened with a theatrical creak. _Huh! The door makes spooky creaking noises. I never noticed that before._

Spike stood before her, a soft smile lighting his face as he gazed at her. Buffy stared back blankly. He was wearing black dress pants with a belt and a tucked in but open, blue dress shirt that seemed to match his eyes. His hair was curling gently over his forehead and his feet were bare. He held a wine glass in his hand and extended it to her as he said, "You look beautiful, Buffy."

Still combing at her hair with one hand, she took the offered wine glass and blushed. "You look pretty yummy yourself – not that I'm thinking yummy thoughts! I mean, baby steps. There are no yummy thoughts with baby steps... and I just said all that out loud, didn't I?"

His soft smile had turned into a grin as she quickly tipped up the glass and took a big swallow.

"Am I making you nervous, Slayer?"

"What? No, of course no— Maybe? This is so different... so not... not us. But it shouldn't feel weird, should it? I mean that's why I..." She frowned and moved into the crypt so that he could shut the door. "This is silly. I'm me, and you're you, and we... we know each other."

Spike took her hand and walked her into the room where she could see a small table, covered with an immaculate white tablecloth. It was set for two and was accompanied by an assortment of covered platters on a nearby teacart. Taking the glass from her, he set it down and pulled her into a loose embrace.

"I'm nervous, too, love," he said in a low rumble. "This is all new territory for us, yeah? Not that I wouldn't have liked..." He shrugged. "What's important is that we're still us, just us on our best behavior."

Buffy shrugged. "Best behavior, huh? I guess that's what feels so strange... Not exactly something we tend to bring out in each other, is it?"

"It could be. I'm willing to try if you are."

"It looks like you're off to a pretty good start," she said, gazing at the table with its sparkling china, silver utensils and beautiful candelabra in the center. She turned her gaze to the rest of the crypt. Each stone niche in the surrounding walls had its own thick candle burning brightly giving the entire large room a warm glow. "Doesn't it make you nervous? All this fire around you?"

He looked around the room and shrugged. "The big ones are way out there, and they're sitting on stone. Not likely to start a fire." He turned her towards the table and the candles burning there. "And these are giving my lady the candlelight dinner I promised her. Worth the risk, if you ask me."

"Well, just be careful, 'k? Not wanting our first date to end in flames and ashes."

"Not how I'm planning for it to end, Buffy. Trust me." He wriggled his eyebrows in a theatrical leer and she giggled.

"Baby steps," she warned, flushing under his warm gaze.

"You can't come here looking like that and expect my mind not to go exactly where you knew it would go. That's not fair, love."

Buffy glanced down at her own carefully chosen outfit and flushed again. It would have been pointless to deny that her tight-fitting, low-cut red blouse and the black a-line skirt she paired it with hadn't been chosen with Spike's preferences in mind.

"I just wanted to look nice," she said, tossing her head. "And be wearing something practical for slaying." She glared at his raised eyebrow. "What? Red shirt – blood won't show. Swinging, loose skirt – no problem kicking or running. It's all very practical."

"If you say so, pet. Looks to me like you wore my favorite colors, a blouse that means I'll be trying to see down it all night, and a skirt and boots that..." His attention had clearly wandered, and Buffy gave up waiting for him to regain his train of thought. She pulled out one of the chairs and sat down where he'd placed her wine glass.

"So, dinner?"

"Right! Dinner." Spike shook himself and picked up one of the covered platters. He whisked off the lid and set it aside. Underneath had been two T-bone steaks – one barely warm and one still almost sizzling. "Uh, that's yours," he said unnecessarily as Buffy wrinkled her nose at the raw-looking piece of meat and put the sizzling one on her plate.

When he had offered her everything on the cart, and taken a few things for his own plate, he brought the wine bottle to the table and topped up her glass, pouring one for himself before setting it down.

He raised his glass in a toast and said, "To baby steps." Buffy smiled and tapped her glass against his. "To a new beginning... with baby steps."

In spite of the awkwardness between them at first, Buffy and Spike had known each other too long and had spent too much time together not to be able to relax and talk easily. Although, whenever the conversation drifted away from slaying, demons and apocalypses it did become a bit strained from time to time, causing Buffy to remember how little she really knew about Spike as a human.

"Tell me about William," she said when she had already praised the food and ambience so many times it was becoming a joke. She sipped at her wine while Spike pretended to give her request some thought.

"Told you all you needed to know last night," he said, not meeting her eyes. "Prissy little Victorian gentleman that nobody gave two extra thoughts to... unless they were mocking his—" He stopped himself and took a deep draught from his glass, pulling it away from his mouth and frowning at it. "Bloody stuff doesn't have quite the same effect as a good shot of Jack," he muttered.

"If you have to get drunk to tell me, then never mind," Buffy snapped. "I just thought it might be nice to know you as well as you know me."

"Ah, Buffy, love... Been around for soddin' ever, haven't I? Can't put all that into one evening's conversation."

"I wasn't asking for the life and times of William the Bloody, I was asking about the life of William...?" She let it dangle until Spike finally sighed and surrendered.

"Pratt," he said quietly. "William Pratt."

Buffy frowned. "Prat? Isn't that something Giles calls Xander when he's done something stupid?"

"Pratt. P - r -a - t - t. Perfectly respectable British name. Just my luck it rhymes with that other word. And don't think that escaped anyone's notice, back then. Might as well have named me William Wanker." His face hardened as he reminisced and Buffy wasn't sure she didn't see a flash of gold in his eyes.

"Okay. Not all happy, fluffy memories. I get it. Let's talk about something else, something less—" She was interrupted by the sound of the door being flung open as several vampires burst into the room – stopping in confusion when Buffy and Spike looked up from the table in irritation but with no sign of fear.

"Fuckin' bloody idiots! Can't you see we're having dinner here? Where are your manners?"

Since neither Spike nor Buffy had moved yet, the large, thuggish vampire in front said, "We have a message for you from the K'ralk demon you cheated the other night. He's taking his money back – out of your hide." The vampire looked at Buffy and licked his lips. Clearly he had no idea who she was. "Maybe we'll take your little friend there back to him... after we're done with her, of course."

Spike's eyes lit up and he rose to his feet, the joy of battle already evident on his face.

"Bring it on then, mate. You'll have to go through me to get to her." He gave Buffy a wink, enjoying the way her eyes narrowed at the one that had referred to her as his "little friend".

"Not the problem you think it might be," the vamp said, standing to one side and allowing two equally thuggish looking humans to walk past him. "That's him," he said, pointing to Spike. "He can't hurt you. Should be an easy job. Just don't dust him – client wants you to leave him crippled so he starves to death."

Buffy was already on her feet and moving before the leader had finished speaking. She got between Spike and the humans, earning frowns from everyone. "Switch?" she asked as she stepped in front of Spike.

"You got it, Slayer." Spike grinned and moved to get between the vamps and the door. "Now then, you were sayin' something about it not being a problem?" He bounced on his toes and waited for them to make a move.

Buffy, meanwhile, continued to stay between Spike and the mean, but not overly bright human thugs who were still focused on reaching him. One of them tried to backhand Buffy out of the way, only to have her grab his arm and use it to propel him across the crypt.

"Hey! Did he just call her 'Slayer'?" Before the vamp in question could answer his own question with "Oh shi—" Spike had picked him up and thrown him through the door to land in an unconscious heap. The other two jumped on his back, hoping to bear him down under their combined weight. Not only had they not done their homework about who Spike hung out with, they also didn't know exactly who he was. Or they didn't know there was a difference between the strength of a cocky ten-year old vampire and one that had been undead for well over a hundred years...

While Buffy efficiently knocked out the other human attacker, dragging both him and his companion outside to lie beside the vamp Spike had tossed through the door, Spike had reached behind him and put a very powerful hand around the largest vampire's balls. With a wicked grin, he crushed them in his fist, laughing at the high-pitched scream it evoked. While that attacker writhed on the floor screaming curses, Spike got the remaining one to the door by punching him in the face and knocking him back a few feet with each punch. When there was nothing between the woozy vamp and the outside but the threshold, Spike landed one final uppercut that sent him through the opening and out to join the pile of unconscious or moaning bodies on the grass.

He turned around to see Buffy standing over the screaming leader, stake in hand.

"Wait, pet," he said. "Let's do this efficiently." Ignoring the snarls, curses and cries of pain from the vampire in his hands, he threw him out the door and came back to pick the candelabra off the table. He carried it outside and grinned at the three vampires now trying to crawl away.

"Word of advice, boys. Always know your target before you decide how easy a job is going to be." He leaned down and touched each of them with the flaming tips of the candles, muttering "oops" when a candle fell off and landed on the middle vampire. With a whoosh, they all went up in flames, leaving nothing behind but an acrid smell and three piles of ashes.

The still barely-conscious human attackers stared in horror, skittering away from the flames as best they could and screaming when Spike turned an unforgiving eye on them.

"What do you think, pet? Bet it takes a lot longer for a human to go up in flames than it does a vamp. I wonder if I could..."

"They aren't worth the headache, Spike," Buffy said firmly. "And you know I can't let you try it."

"Yeah, yeah. Was only havin' some fun with them." He shifted into game face and bared his fangs at the two men. "In case you haven't learned your lesson yet, I _am_ a bit handicapped, but a long way from toothless." He felt Buffy at his side and reached for her hand. "And my lady... she's..." His voice trailed off and he went back to his human mien as he noticed the hungry look on Buffy's face.

"She's got better things to do than stand out here to make sure no fledges eat them before they can get away," she breathed. "Things that ought to be done inside, behind closed doors..."

Without replying, he scooped her up and carried her into the crypt, kicking the door shut behind them. Buffy laughed softly and squirmed until he put her down. "As romantic as that was, I think you should lock the door before we get any other surprises."

"I suppose you're right," he murmured into her neck, licking the pulse pounding there. When she gave him a little shove, he sighed and let her go. "Right. Lock the doors... and rescue the caterer's candlesticks..." He opened the door, raced out, grabbed the candelabra from where he'd dropped it, snarled once more for good measure and went back inside, pulling the heavy metal outer door with him. He handed the no longer lit candles to Buffy and closed and barred the interior door, dusting his hands with satisfaction.

"Now where were we?" he purred, pulling her against his body.

"I think we were about to zip right through the baby steps to big, leapy, steps."

"I am feeling a bit like taking longer strides right now," he agreed, nibbling on her lower lip and sliding his hands down to her ass. He pulled her against the proof of what he was saying, groaning when she ground herself against him.

"I think we can... ah!... I mean, we're both very athletic and... oooh... coordinated. We can probably walk a little... ummmm... faster than most people..."

The End (of our voyeuristic opportunity anyway) :)


End file.
